25 - Don, 10 March 1915

Don, Wednesday 10 March 1915

Dear family,

I received mother’s parcel  letter of the 3rd. Furthermore parcels nr 27, 28, 32, one with cheese, and one with sardines and jam. Many thanks for everything.

Furthermore a letter came from Else from sometime ago. I don’t know whether I had acknowledged receipt already. I think so though.

It really is not good grumbling at the Fieldpost. If you see the amount of post for our Company alone, and then the many fieldpost-trucks driving past.

It is not that bad if something gets lost now and then. In the end it will benefit a soldier. Whether that is me or someone else is really the same.

Father should not worry about the coldstores. When Peace is there everything comes together again. Other businessmen suffer even more from the war. It accounts for something that the City and Government have rented part of it, doesn’t it.

What do you the feed the horses now? Here turnips are turned into cattlefeed. The turnips are first ground into small pieces and then dried. Even though it is surrogate cattlefeed, it’s better than nothing. How does it work in Germany? Here there are plenty of turnips to make cattlefeed from.

Very nice of the Benzenbergs to pay you a visit. Let mother pay them a visit sometime. Then they can find comfort with eachother if they need it. I do hope though that is not the case.

When I have a lot of time I’ll write to the Benzenbergs. Maybe they’ll send me a parcel too.

Lately I haven’t had much appetite to write. Service is now particularly heavy every time. I’m always dead-tired.

We were told by two wounded from La Bassée that today a lot is going on at the front.

The English have attacked again. At La Bassée they [the Germans] repelled the attack, causing tremendous losses on the English side. At Neuve-Chapelle however they [the English] gained some ground. They want to drive them back tonight.

I have never heard such a thunder of guns as today. You couldn’t even distinguish between the separate gunshots anymore. It’s more like a constant loud boom, going on uninterruptedly from 9-10 this morning. [*]

Then there was a mass of aeroplanes flying overhead, and they were very lively shot at by our anti-aircraft guns [“Ballonabwehrkanonen”] and fieldhowitzers. The aeroplanes came so close that the shrapnel of the grenades they were being shot with landed inbetween us. That shrapnel ofcourse can’t do any damage.

But I need to stop. Tonight we may have a Grand Alert, and I want to pack my backpack just in case.

Hopefully I can then unpack it again tomorrowmorning.

With many greetings also to all acquaintances I am  your Fritz

[*] 10 March 1915 – Start of the Battle of Neuve Chapelle

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Neuve_Chapelle

At the bottom of the last page of this letter there is a little scribble : 

Which is presume is the censor ?
This is the only letter that has such a little scribble.


The original letter :

24 - Don, 7 March 1915

Don, 7 March 1915

[Sunday]

Dear family,

Since Wednesday I have received the following parcels: nrs 21, 22, 23, 25, one with soap and towel, and one with butter. Furthermore Else’s letter of the 28^th Febr.  Many thanks for everything.

I was expecially happy to receive Else’s letter. Helene is too busy with her work at the clinic, But Hanne surely has time to write me now and then. Or is she helping mother?

I have read the Luther booklet, and will return it to you today, as I assume Else would like to keep it. 
Post arrives regularly, also the Kölnische Zeitung always arrives. It’s a much desired object here, for completely different reasons.

I also received parcels from Aunt Bonert, Aunt Vollmer and Henno. Please thank them for me.

I have already written to everybody. It is very nice if people, of whom you don’t think often, still send you something.

Not much to tell about this week. We had another lenghty march again. We went to the neighbourhood of Herlies, where there was heavy fighting end of October.  Our Oberleutnant, who was in this fighting, showed us how it all developed then. It was very instructive, and you got a good idea of how it was back then. Trenches and bombcraters were still there.

We then walked through the larger village of Fournes[-en-Weppes]  which I’m sure you can locate on the map. Only a few windows had still glass in them, and the church and all the higher buildings were completely destroyed.

We then marched on to Santes, where the defences of Lille start, even though Lille is still 10 kms away.[*1]

Beautiful trenches there, with movable trench shields and every possible luxury (Wooden planks on the floor, carved out seating in the dug-outs which are very comfortable. In front of it barbed wire defences, tripwires etc making you feel reasonably safe in the trenches.

Why these fortifications were built I don’t know, they look like some precaution, but they must have cost a lot.

Not much further to write about this week. Friday a transport of 53’ers from Cologne and 39’ers from Düsseldorf arrived. [*2] I went to the station and had hoped to meet Hermann Dicke. I didn’t see him but it is very well possible he was there.

What is the foodsituation like back home? Is it getting tight already? Too bad you had to get rid of the pigeons. What do you feed the horses now?

From what I have seen people here are wasteful when it concerns oats and also bread.

It is good news the city and government want to rent out the coldstores. Hopefully that goes through. With the shortage in butter and eggs a large part will be empty I suppose.

H. Mais left today on leave to Lille. Please ask around if anybody knows someone there, or in Douai, whom I can go and visit some time. He took my watch with him to Lille, the glass and hands were broken.

But end. Hope to hear something very soon from Hanne, and am, with best greetings also to all acquaintances, your Fritz

[*1] 

[*2]

 53’ers = Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment nr. 53

http://wiki-de.genealogy.net/RIR_53

39’ers = Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment nr. 39

http://wiki-de.genealogy.net/RIR_39

The original letter:  

23 - Don, 7 March 1915

Don, 7 March 1915

[Sunday]

Dear family,

Many Sundaygreetings sends you your Fritz. Letter follows momentarily.

[Countersigned by his comrades]

Freundliche Gruß  Karl Steigleder

Besten Gruß           H. Pais

Freundliche Gruß  A. Heede

Freundliche Gruß  Ernst Fisher

                                 Th Sommer

22 - Don, 3 March 1915

Don, 3 March 1915

[Wednesday]

Dear family,

Yesterday mother’s letter of the 25th arrived. Upto now I received the following parcels : the two parcels with the Browning and ammunition. Then nrs 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19.  So the first three parcels of the 9^th did not arrive.

The ones that did not arrive will have found themselves a different destination I’m sure.

It is not that bad, I’ve always received plenty. Money I don’t need, I still have some 40 Mk.

And we get paid 15,90 Mk per month, so I’ll be alright untill we go to the front.

Then there are also not many opportunities here to spend money. All I buy is butter and jam, which is very nice, and in the evening a beer or two.

Socks I don’t yet need. I wear them untill they’re really worn through, but those are not many. The ones I brought along are really strong. I put on the dirty pair over the clean pair, I always wear two pair. I always wear the watertight jacket and trousers. They hardly let through any water, so I am always dry in them.

My cold is not that bad anymore, but I don’t want to call in sick. It always looks like you’re trying to get out of work. And I can always get medicine, we have a doctor here ofcourse.

I haven’t had watchduty at night yet. But we don’t have to, because the cavalry and artillery guys are taking care of that. [*]

It seems that you did not receive all my letters. I have always written on Sundays and Wednesdays.

There is no one in my platoon you have to send parcels to. Everybody gets something from home, even if it is not much sometimes. I always share something with them then.

Unfortunately there are also people who get rather impertinent and find you háve to give them something.

Another two parcels from you just arrived, I haven’t looked at the contents yet. Furthermore a parcel each from Bonert, Aunt Vollmer and one from Heinz.

But I’ll stop, I want to go and eat something from them. I’ll write more extensively on Sunday.

With many greetings  your Fritz




[*] Re the Cavalry : this is "Braunschweig Husarenregiment nr 17", a few of Fritz's letters of end of February bear a stamp of this regiment. 
Regiment 17 was moved to the Eastern front end of April 1915.


The original letter: